What I’ve learned about success—from a seven-year-old

One day not that long ago, my seven-year-old daughter, Melanie Rose, brought home an assignment from school. She had to choose at least one of six simple machines, make it and then present it to the class explaining how the machine makes work easier.

An ambitious young girl, she wasn’t satisfied making one simple machine. Her plans included a desktop model that incorporated all six.

Now I think she’s a pretty smart (OK, pretty and smart) little girl but I’d be fibbing if I said I wasn’t a little concerned about her presentation. That’s a lot of information for a young mind to remember and present.

But off she went, drawing up her plans and putting together her production. She (with a little help from Dad) wrapped a story around two Little Tykes people who had to travel to the top of MRJ Lookout Hill. They went through the gate (lever) to board the elevator that was held in its parking spot by a wedge before it was pulled up the hill (inclined plane) by a car (wheel and axle) and a rope with a pulley. The pulley was held in place by a screw.

She must have gone through that presentation for Mommy and Daddy 20 or more times before she had to do it in front of the class. She was committed to getting that story down pat.

And she did.

When it came time to tell her story, she aced it. She was confident in herself and, as a result, she met with great success.

Then I started thinking about the process that led to her success. As it turns out, it is exactly the same process anyone can use to achieve success in their own lives.

If you want to take just nine words away with you from this article, let them be these: Preparation leads to confidence and confidence leads to success.

So how do you prepare to achieve even greater success in your own business?

Start with these two things:

First, list all the benefits you offer. If you are a marketer, you may list these: you can help your client look good; you can help her sell more; you can take that marketing assignment off her desk, giving her time to do her real job of managing her business; you can give her peace of mind knowing that it will be done right—and whatever other benefits you offer.

All those benefits give people a reason to buy your product or service. But there is one more thing. Why should they buy from you?

You must determine that one reason people should choose you over and above every other choice, including doing nothing. That’s called your unique selling proposition (USP) and that’s what will make people buy from you.

Then read the list, but especially the USP, many, many, many times. Commit it to memory. Recite it on the way to the office, the hockey game and the kids’ dance classes. Get it in your head in a way that you’ve never had anything in your head before.

Now, list all the questions your clients could possibly ask—especially the tough ones: Why are you so expensive? How are you better than the next guy? List every objection and every possible query that could ever come up.

Then take the time to write out your answers until you are satisfied that your case is solid. (“You’re right, I’m not the cheapest guy in town. But I bring incredible value to the table including…” “I’m not better than the next guy—I’m sure he is a good marketer, too. But we don’t market to people to inform them or raise awareness, We market to sell. We help you move more product.”)

When you have these things down pat, you will walk into a client’s office with the kind of confidence you can’t buy. From there, success isn’t just likely, it’s inevitable.